This pandemic has

exposed our society for

what it really is — fragile
and unfair — Rashaad Ali
Friday, 03 Apr 2020 09:47 AM MYT

APRIL 3 — Malaysia is now into its third week of the movement control order and
although early signs suggest our efforts are beginning to pay off, there is still a long
road ahead. The coronavirus pandemic has dramatically altered our lives in a manner
reserved for a dystopia: a rapidly spreading illness, sudden deaths, panic buying,
deserted cities. Our efforts at containment have been equally dramatic; a stay-home
order, restricted movement, and a bizarre robotic orderliness at grocery stores.

The pandemic has also put the brakes on an already faltering economy. The machine of
perpetual motion has come to a screeching halt; an economy dependent on
consumption has been stripped of its ability to consume. While we twiddle our thumbs at
home or struggle with an unstable internet connection throughout our Zoom meetings,
many other Malaysians reliant on constant work to survive are now deprived of their
source of income. Many contract workers, traders, hawkers and those in the service
industry have lost their job and with it, their means of survival. This pandemic has
exposed our society for what it really is — fragile and unfair, unable to prioritise even
when it’s a matter of life and death.

Last week’s stimulus package, one of many similar initiatives around makes clear just
how dire the situation is — even then it is clear the package is not close to being
sufficient. One-off cash transfers to our poorest are not going to keep them ticking over
for long, while SMEs are not getting enough support. Meanwhile, measures such as
allowing the public to withdraw from their EPF compromise an already uncertain future.
Aid will take time to disburse, which may not be enough for those who have lived
paycheck to paycheck.

On the frontlines, healthcare workers and services are being overwhelmed. Insufficient
equipment and supplies, especially outside the Klang Valley, may end up costing the
lives of many. Yet somehow we are still behaving like this will all blow over soon, that
normal service be resumed shortly. Putting aside what a post-Covid 19 world will even
look like, recovery will take a significant amount of time. Who knows what will happen
between now and then?
Our underbellies are unprotected — showing how many of us are just one disaster
away from destitution. Now that disaster has finally arrived, it’s not the billionaires, the
entrepreneurs or the digital marketing gurus who have come to save us. We’ve instead
become reliant on an army of frontliners in public healthcare and essential services —
jobs that many would disdain from outside of a global pandemic — to keep us safe and
the engine running.

Applauding these brave individuals from the comfort of our homes might make for a
heart-warming video on social media but it does nothing to protect these people keeping
the enemy at bay. Witness last year’s episode when Foodpanda changed its pay
scheme for their riders. Or the lack of a guaranteed pay rise or contract renewal for
public medical officers. In times of economic hardship these groups are the first to pay
the price due to no fault of their own, exacerbating any existing economic fragility. When
it’s a public health crisis however, our dependencies are exposed. It’s not the CEOs that
deliver your meals or groceries to your house, that pack food items or work the cashier
at the supermarket, but the contract workers on low pay and no benefits.

A fight against Covid-19 is also a fight for social justice and equality of opportunity. This
virus does not discriminate so why should we? Now more than ever must we do more to
protect and expand our safety nets, to introduce a broader set of social measures that
promote freedom and dignity for all. The idea of universal basic income for example
merits serious consideration. Somehow, the idea of giving everyone a base amount of
money to ensure their survival is outlandish and absurd, and yet during times of crisis it
is precisely what we are doing. In times of calm that money helps give us the means to
pursue a life worth living, free from the constraints of precarity. In times of emergency it
serves as a fallback so our health and security are safeguarded.

Basic income will not alleviate poverty, but it will give us the tools to help us escape. It is
about social justice, to give everyone a fighting chance in an unequal world. The lottery
of birth should not decide whether someone lives or dies. Social welfare policies tend to
be shelved based on affordability. But we fail to talk about affordability when the
economy crashes and capitalist institutions queue up to receive their socialist bailout.
Why is it that when it comes to us or the marginalised in society it becomes
controversial, counterproductive and unaffordable?

This pandemic is a great example of the prisoner’s dilemma — anyone acting in self-
interest will produce a sub-optimal outcome. Hoarding groceries deprives others of food.
Flouting the stay-home order risks worsening the infection and adding stress to our
healthcare system. In times of crisis we all need to do our part and pull together. The
same should be true in periods of calm.

Perhaps you have suffered in this MCO, financially, mentally, physically, emotionally.
Perhaps you are someone who has lost their job, or a business owner struggling to
keep things afloat. Know that the reality you experience now is the life of many other
Malaysians who have not been afforded the same opportunities as everyone else. If
your health is good and your finances are well, count yourself lucky and think of those
less fortunate. We tend to rely on them more than we know.